Stuffed Greek Zucchini with Beef and Pork Recipe
Stuffed Greek Zucchini with Beef and Pork Recipe
A recipe from the super-cook Maria Fotiadou – who spices up her drool-worthy social media posts with some refreshing irreverence!
Maria @fotiadism is one of THE BEST Greek cooks I have found on Instagram. Her food is always drool-worthy and her posts always make me chuckle – as she shares the trials and tribulations of marriage with a foodie focus!!!!
Maria resides in Sfendami, beneath Mt Olympus in Greece, and it makes me wonder whether the aura of the ancient Greek Gods has given Maria her cooking superpowers?!?!? What do you think???
Ingredients
• medium zucchini
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 medium-large brown onion, finely diced
• 400 g mixed minced pork and beef
• ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 1 tap salt
• ⅓ cup medium-grain rice
• 3 cups chicken stock (see KO’s chicken stock)
• 3 spring onions
• 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 handful dill, chopped
• 1 handful mint, chopped (Optional: Maria does not favour mint, but you might)
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1 large lemon, juiced
Instructions
Preparing the zucchini
o Wash the zucchini
o Cut the stalk off the top
o Using an apple corer or a small spoon carefully scrape out the flesh, leaving about ½ cm of skin and flesh (reserve the zucchini flesh for zucchini fritters or a zucchini pie)
o Place the hollowed-out zucchini in a medium pot, one next to the other, so they remain upright (If your pot is large – use bowls to prop up the zucchini and fill the empty spaces in the pot)
Preparing the filling
o On medium-high heat sauté the brown onions in the EVOO till golden in colour
o Add the minced meat and cook till it browns
o Season with salt and pepper
o Add the rice
o Add 1 cup of chicken stock and cook till the stock is absorbed
o Stir in the spring onions, parsley, dill and mint
Cooking the stuffed zucchini
o Fill the zucchini
o Drizzle the zucchini with a little EVOO
o Add 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup water to the pot, so the liquid level is about 1/3 of the way up the zucchini
o Place a lid on the pot and cook the zucchini on the cooktop, on medium/medium-high heat until the zucchini have softened and the rice has cooked through
o Very carefully transfer the zucchini to a platter
Serving the stuffed zucchini
o For the avgolemono, beat two eggs till light and frothy, add the juice of one lemon and add some broth from the pot to temper the avgolemono
o Pour the avgolemono over the zucchini
o Serve and enjoy!
Kali Orexi!
